# Provisional Ballot A **provisional ballot** is the ballot a voter casts when their eligibility can't be confirmed at the polls. It is sealed, set aside, and counted only if an election official verifies the voter's eligibility afterward, during the processing window before the [[Election Canvass]]. It is the system's built-in safety valve: no one who believes they are registered is turned away, and no one unverified is counted. ## What federal law requires Section 302 of the [[Help America Vote Act]] (2002), codified at 52 U.S.C. § 21082, made provisional voting a federal guarantee after the 2000 election. It covers anyone who says they are registered and eligible in the jurisdiction but whose name is missing from the rolls, or whose eligibility an official challenges. Typical triggers: - a registration record that can't be found - an address mismatch, or a voter at the wrong polling place - a first-time voter without the required ID - a voter who requested a mail ballot and shows up in person instead HAVA's requirements: - **An affirmation.** The voter signs a written statement of eligibility. - **A lookup.** Officials must provide a free system, such as a phone line or website, where the voter can find out whether the ballot was counted and, if not, why. - **Court-extended hours.** Anyone who votes only because a court extended polling hours must vote provisionally, and those ballots are kept separate. ## How many count In **2024**, election offices issued about **1.74 million** provisional ballots, according to MIT's Election Data + Science Lab. About **1.28 million** were counted in full or in part, and about **436,000** were rejected. The leading reason for rejection, about half of all rejections, was that the voter was **not registered in the state at all**. Registration in a different jurisdiction and missing information came next. Use varies enormously by state, from under 0.01% of ballots in Michigan to nearly **5% in Maryland**. That gap reflects the rules more than the voters. States with same-day registration or flexible address updates issue few provisionals; states with strict precinct and ID rules issue many and reject more. ## Why it is contested Provisional ballots are **counted last by construction** (see [[How a Ballot Is Counted]]). In a close race they are the margin, and the cure rules decide which ones count: - whether a ballot cast at the wrong precinct counts for the races the voter was eligible for - how many days the voter has to bring ID - whether the voter is told they need to These rules vary sharply by state, and rejections fall unevenly across voter populations. The 2025–26 citizenship-verification push sits directly on this pipeline. Federal efforts to require documentary proof of citizenship have so far been blocked in court: - **[[SAVE Act]].** Passed the House in April 2025 and has stalled in the Senate. - **Executive Order 14248 (2025).** Parts were **permanently enjoined** by Judge Kollar-Kotelly (D.D.C.), and by Judge Casper (D. Mass.) on June 24, 2026, including its rule against counting ballots that arrive after Election Day. - **[[Executive Order 14399]] (2026).** The Postal Service ballot-mail rule that implements it was blocked by Judge [[Indira Talwani]] on Sept 4, 2026. The Supreme Court refused to stay that block on Sept 14, 7–2. If verification tightens anyway, more voters will be routed to provisional ballots rather than turned away. Rejection rates will then become the measure of who was excluded. See [[Federal Ballot Mail Portal]]. ## See Also - [[How a Voter Is Removed From the Rolls]] — where the provisional ballot comes from when the voter was registered and is not on the list, and the § 20507(e) affirmation right that should have been offered first - [[How a Ballot Is Counted]]: the third pile, and why a provisional ballot is counted last by construction - [[How a Midterm Election Is Certified]] · [[Election Certification]] · [[Election Canvass]] - [[Help America Vote Act]] · [[SAVE Act]] · [[Executive Order 14399]] · [[Voter Suppression]] · [[Mail-in Voting]]